95 replies to this topic

[umbrello]

I just submitted an 85% complete version of Dragon Quest Adventure! It's not a straightforward quest, so I'm sure people will need help. Here's a few tips to get you started:

 

- At the start, your sword can't hurt enemies. It can only stun them. You'll have to enter the castle and find the King who will give you 200 gold. Then you can buy a sword. I also suggest getting the torch. Not only can you burn trees like in the original Zelda, but you will need the torch to explore caves (every screen in the caves requires the torch/candle).

 

- The whole first overworld/underworld is like one huge 'Level 1'. Explore everywhere you can to find heart containers and gold (you'll need a lot of gold when you get to the second town). There's a very obvious tree that you have burn in order to progress.

 

- Don't bother exploring the cave in the southeast corner of the first overworld until you have the ship. (It's a dead end without it)

 

- The information provided by 'pay for info' should be enough to get you through. You can also get info from Warubou, the little guy from Dragon Quest Monsters. In DQA, most of the time you find a door repair room it will be Warubou. He takes your money but usually gives a helpful tip. Sometimes he's just a jerk and tells you nothing good. If you are completely broke, try to find some Warubous so you can get the tips without paying.

 

HAVE FUN AND POST IF YOU NEED HELP! XD

Edited by umbrello, 01 September 2014 - 04:27 PM.

[Obderhode]

I will certainly be playing this! I'll let you know my thoughts.

[Air Luigi]

This quest feels so addictive, but I want to play the final build! =P

I played this quest more than a hour and I liked how the quest plays differently to the rest, with the focus in money and pure exploration of the world.I really like the cave system. The graphics aren't perfect, but very good work overall. The only problem is that I don't like to play unfinished quests. So, I don't know what to do...

[umbrello]

This quest feels so addictive, but I want to play the final build! =P

I played this quest more than a hour and I liked how the quest plays differently to the rest, with the focus in money and pure exploration of the world.I really like the cave system. The graphics aren't perfect, but very good work overall. The only problem is that I don't like to play unfinished quests. So, I don't know what to do...

 

Hmm... yeah I didn't want to release an unfinished version, but I really don't know when I'm going to get back to working on it. I'm glad you're enjoying it, though. I'm currently focused on other things, unfortunately. I really want to finish this quest so hopefully I will get inspired by some feedback from the demo.

[Air Luigi]

Well, I explored a lot. I have 500+ coins, bombs, sword, shield, torch... I arrived to the southwest part of the overworld, but it's too hard. I assume that I'm missing important upgrades. I have seven hearts, but I don't find the white sword or the blue ring. A ladder or a whistle should be useful also, but no luck. Advice, please?

 

Btw, it's so frustrating to die when you are far from the start point (in the east part of the overworld), I need shortcuts xd But I'm loving the quest anyway, I like the exploration here, it's very well crafted.

 

And about the inns, why don't you put a room with a bed (fairy tile)? After paying the fee, of course. Would be way more natural.

Edited by Air Luigi, 01 September 2014 - 10:04 PM.

[umbrello]

Well, I explored a lot. I have 500+ coins, bombs, sword, shield, torch... I arrived to the southwest part of the overworld, but it's too hard. I assume that I'm missing important upgrades. I have seven hearts, but I don't find the white sword or the blue ring. A ladder or a whistle should be useful also, but no luck. Advice, please?

 

Btw, it's so frustrating to die when you are far from the start point (in the east part of the overworld), I need shortcuts xd But I'm loving the quest anyway, I like the exploration here, it's very well crafted.

 

You're not missing anything (unless you missed the Gold Pass which is very useful but not entirely necessary). That part of the quest is difficult. Make sure you have a medicinal herb and that you heal up at the inn before heading southwest from the eastern desert. I would advise stunning the enemies and moving past them rather than killing them. If you come close to dying and have already used your herb, try killing easy monsters like red slimes or drakees to get your life back. You can kill Facetrees in one hit with the torch, which comes in handy. Also, when you hit the first bridge going southwest, there's a tree you can burn to get another medicinal herb if you already had to use one. If you have bombs, you could also try getting an herb from killing a metal slime near the marshy area, but it's a low chance. Once you get to the southwest cave you'll be fine because you can die then, lol.

 

I've considered making a continue point when you come out the cave in the eastern desert, but I felt it would break "the rules". I set certain rules for the quest to keep the authenticity in check. In the original Zelda, you always went back to the first screen when you died in the overworld. And in the original Dragon Quest, you always went back to the castle when you died. Be glad I didn't make you go all the way back to the castle when dying in a cave (that would have made people quit right away, lol). I almost made you continue with 3 hearts, but I figured that would be a deal breaker. 

 

Once you finish the southwest cave and get the ship, you can travel to the second overworld where you will continue at the second town when you die, and also when you save and restart. Later on you can easily travel between the first and second overworld with the Silver Harp (whistle) and Pocket Bridge (ladder), which will be necessary when trying to get to the third town which is in the northeast part of the first overworld. I will tell you right now, one of the hardest parts is getting to the third town. I'm really happy that you're enjoying the quest. It can be difficult and requires a lot of patience at times. A lot of parts are preparing you for later when it gets even harder. But I think there's balance. Thanks for playing and keep me posted! XD

[Air Luigi]

I have the gold pass, 12 bombs, 8 hearts and ship now.

 

 

 

I've considered making a continue point when you come out the cave in the eastern desert, but I felt it would break "the rules". I set certain rules for the quest to keep the authenticity in check. In the original Zelda, you always went back to the first screen when you died in the overworld. And in the original Dragon Quest, you always went back to the castle when you died. 

 

 

That would be the best solution.

Z1 is different, you can get the blue ring and white sword early and you start in the south. In DQA, you start in a corner, so, to go to the east is a long (and easy) path. I'm a total retrogamer, and I understand your idea about authenticity totally. But believe me, we aren't more in the 80s. I don't have any problem with the absence of the checkpoint, but that will be a roadblock for many players. I think is better if they can retry from the start of the east desert. Players can continue from caves anyway, I think that doesn't break nothing. I love the challenge in the south part! It's very well balanced. The problem as I say, is to go from the castle to the desert many times. Imagine if some people need 10 retries... I only needed two tries, and I find that annoying xD In any case, it's your quest.

 

Btw, it's minor, but I would reduce the number of dark rooms in caves to 50% at least. I find a bit pointless to lose time in lighting every room. That makes the quest feel unnecessary slow at times. It's just a personal preference, though.

 

Apart from that, I decided to complete the demo, it's simpy very addictive and I like the unique progression of this quest. Maybe I can provide some useful feedback to you =)

Edited by Air Luigi, 02 September 2014 - 04:13 PM.

[umbrello]

I have the gold pass, 12 bombs, 8 hearts and ship now.

 

 

 

That would be the best solution.

Z1 is different, you can get the blue ring and white sword early and you start in the south. In DQA, you start in a corner, so, to go to the east is a long (and easy) path. I'm a total retrogamer, and I understand your idea about authenticity totally. But believe me, we aren't more in the 80s. I don't have any problem with the absence of the checkpoint, but that will be a roadblock for many players. I think is better if they can retry from the start of the east desert. Players can continue from caves anyway, I think that doesn't break nothing. I love the challenge in the south part! It's very well balanced. The problem as I say, is to go from the castle to the desert many times. Imagine if some people need 10 retries... I only needed two tries, and I find that annoying xD In any case, it's your quest.

 

Btw, it's minor, but I would reduce the number of dark rooms in caves to 50% at least. I find a bit pointless to lose time in lighting every room. That makes the quest feel unnecessary slow at times. It's just a personal preference, though.

 

Apart from that, I decided to complete the demo, it's simpy very addictive and I like the unique progression of this quest. Maybe I can provide some useful feedback to you =)

 

I think I will take your advice and add that continue point. I suppose since it's easy to get back there, it should just let you continue there. And I've wrestled with the idea of less dark rooms in the caves, but I haven't been sure how to handle it. Maybe I can add in some wall torches that would have it make sense for the room to be lit. I thought it would be too difficult when I first started making the quest, but now it should be easier since I've done wall torches in other parts of the game. Thanks for the feedback and I hope you enjoy the second overworld! XD

[Air Luigi]

 

I can't go down

 

 

I can't go left

 

 

I can't go left

 

Did you tested this tower? It's basically full of bugs xd

 

The sideview cave to get to the south overworld is bland. That part needs work, it feels a bit boring, long and repetitive. Luckily, I discovered that the peahats are weak to the boomerang xD Sideview caves in ZC are only a good idea if they are short, or if you have something unique or cool for them.

This quest screams for a bit of combo cycling, that's a ZC feature that enhance a lot a classic quest like this.

Edited by Air Luigi, 02 September 2014 - 06:07 PM.

[umbrello]

It's very strange that you are finding bugs in that tower because I've tested it dozens of times. I can't possibly imagine why there are bugs unless they just appeared out of nowhere. I'll check it out.

 

I've thought about making that cave more interesting. I guess I always liked it the way it is, but maybe you have a point.

[umbrello]

I fixed the bug and uploaded the demo again as Demo v2. I didn't realize that I had turned on "smart screen scrolling", which is odd because I specifically designed the quest to not need it. Everything should be fine now involving screen state carry overs (that was the issue).

Edited by umbrello, 02 September 2014 - 07:09 PM.

[Air Luigi]

Oh nice! I will download the fixed demo now. I was afraid that all the towers were buggy.

I have my harp anyway. I was surprised when I used the harp in the last room of the tower and I found 100 coins! xD

I bought aaaaaaaall in the town. I'm powerful, hoho.

A question, do I need a special item to open those big doors? There is one in the castle, and another in the harp tower.

Edited by Air Luigi, 02 September 2014 - 07:16 PM.

[umbrello]

Oh nice! I will download the fixed demo now. I was afraid that all the towers were buggy.

I have my harp anyway. I was surprised when I used the harp in the last room of the tower and I found 100 coins! xD

I bought aaaaaaaall in the town. I'm powerful, hoho.

A question, do I need a special item to open those big doors? There is one in the castle, and another in the harp tower.

 

Haha, I'm glad you tried using the harp there. I thought I'd put a little something for the people who did.

 

To open those doors you need magic keys which you can buy in the 3rd town. You'll need the next main item, the Pocket Bridge (ladder) to get there. It's in a tower in the desert. 

[Air Luigi]

By curiosity, what's the max money that I can carry? 

[umbrello]

By curiosity, what's the max money that I can carry? 

 

999